Tuesday, January 31, 2006

It seems to me clear that the attorney-general lied under oath to the Senate. In his confirmation hearings, he described warrantless wire-tapping of Americans as a "hypothetical situation," when he was fully aware that such wire-tapping was already in place. We impeached a president for perjury about a civil sexual harassment suit. And Gonzales gets to perjure himself in front of the Senate on a basic matter of national security ... and the world yawns?

As I've said before, right-wing Republicans believe it is patriotic to lie to protect the President, see Ollie North, GW Bush senior re: Ollie North, and the whole Nixon kaboodle. If national security requires it, it is okay to lie to Congress or the American people. Gonzalez certainly believed that lying to protect the president's policy of secret wiretaps on his political enemies was more patriotic than being faithful to his oath of office and to Congress.